Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA Lorne Doerkson said he was not expecting the Aug. 28 announcement BC United is suspending its campaign.
Kevin Falcon, the leader of the BC United party, announced the party would be suspending its campaign to support the BC Conservatives and their leader, John Rustad. Falcon cited the need to defeat the NDP and avoid a right-wing split in the upcoming election set for October 19.
A former member of BC United, having been elected as a BC Liberal in 2020, Doerkson defected to the Conservative Party in May, a move several MLAs have copied over the summer. Doerkson said there were probably rumblings of a potential collapse of the party for "some time now."
"It is clear that there is a very serious situation developing with BC United, for sure," said Doerkson, adding in his conversation with the 100 Mile Free Press he did not expect this to happen "this late in the game."
Doerkson noted that he had stated that there was a burning desire to sort of combine the parties in some way, and that Kevin Falcon and John Rustad had decided it was time to do exactly that.
He called the Conservatives the only alternative to the NDP, and said at the time it was one of the toughest decisions of his life.
"I think there really is a feeling that people do want to see change in this province," Doerkson said. "I'm happy to serve as a BC Conservative candidate, and I'm happy to get another opportunity to potentially serve the people of Cariboo-Chilcotin."
As for Doerkson's opponent, Michael Grenier, from his former party, on August 30 he put out a Facebook video of him filming his comments in Cherry Creek. Grenier seemed to acknowledge the recent political developments, but noted that details were sketchy at the moment.
"As a registered candidate in the new Cariboo-Chilcotin I want to take the time to understand what that means for our riding, for our constituents, so let's dive into that and see what comes of that." Grenier said in the video.
However, Grenier's future as a candidate in the 2024 provincial election is uncertain given the press release by the BC Conservative party. The release stated: "nominations of BC United candidates will be withdrawn to enable the Conservative Party of BC to draw from BC United's pool of incredible incumbent MLAs and candidates."
The Conservatives have since the press conference added Ian Paton, the MLA for Delta South, Peter Milobar, the MLA for Kamloops-North Thompson and Trevor Halford, the MLA for Surrey-White Rock as candidates for the upcoming 2024 election, according to a September 3 press release. Doerkson says that they are great representatives of their communities and will have a warm welcome in the party.
"We are expecting a couple more candidates, I believe, and so there'll be a few days of working through that." stated Doerkson.
At the press conference held in Vancouver by the Conservative Party, Kevin Falcon, the leader of the BC United party, said the decision was "really hard."
"I also believe this is the right thing to do for the province of British Columbia," Falcon said, as he stood beside John Rustad, the leader of the Conservatives.
With a file from Wolf Depner.
